PRESS RELEASE – In light of recent media reports regarding an incident at our Union office building, KM2 Solutions wishes to make the following public statement.
Monday’s incident was as a result of carpet cleaning done by a local cleaning company on Sunday, November 5, that affected one of our four operating suites and impacted some employees showing up to work the following day. The building was not occupied during the cleaning and the cleaning company has provided the same service to us multiple times without issues.
We continue to be in communications with them to understand what transpired in this case. We have received a copy of the chemical specs sheet for the cleaning agent used and have sent a copy to the Ministry of Environmental Health and await their findings. We are committed to getting to the bottom of this and have met with, and are working with government agencies on the matter.
Contrary to reports, the company does not have any ongoing problem with mould or poor indoor air quality or any known contaminants. Twice in recent years, we contracted a US firm to do extensive scientific inspections. While several recommendations were made, in no way was the building ever found to be unsafe or unhealthy to occupy. Nothing was found in any concentration above a typical office building or above recommended Occupational Health and Safety standards.
Those inspections were done in 2014 and 2016 and another has been scheduled for December given Monday’s issue. We used the US firm because of their experience and methodology, including extensive scientific sampling using the latest equipment, something that is difficult to find locally. In their own inspections, the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Health have found nothing that contradicts these findings and we have worked with them to implement many best practices.
There are over 450 employees working in our building and most of them report to work daily without any issues. Any reports of illness of any employee(s) must be taken in the context of each individual person’s susceptibility to illness. It is unreasonable to take isolated or individual cases of illness and make broader conclusions.
As it concerns the employees who became ill on Monday, senior members of management have spoken with all of them and continue to be in daily contact with them and/or their next of kin. We are covering all of their medical care; primary, specialist, if needed, and medications. Most are back to work and are doing okay or significantly better. For those still away, they have our support for as long as it takes them to be fully better.
While we were aware of the media’s presence on the premises on Monday, all management staff were engaged in this urgent situation which was still unfolding. We are not aware of any other efforts by any media personnel to contact us via phone, email, social media or any of the many contact options that are public and easy to find. As such, we wish to dispel the notion that management could not be reached or were perhaps evasive.
We understand that there will always be the regrettable issue of people making baseless claims, commenting without facts or stating things without the benefit of context. We remain proud of our record as a company, proud of our staff and are excited about our plans to expand to a second building and add 300 jobs. While we can always improve, we are confident that the majority of our staff are supportive of us as a company and will lend us their patience and understanding as we work through this difficult situation.
KM2 Solutions St. Lucia has many professional men and women who do exceptional work every day. They are committed, do a stand-out job and make us the company we are. That any of them should go through this is something we regret deeply. They have our deepest apologies and we have said so to them in person. They have a choice where they work and that many of them have worked with us for over 5 and even 10 and 15 years is something we do not take for granted. We take our commitment to be a quality, responsible employer seriously and that includes the health and safety of everyone.
KM2 Solutions Management